Question

The average kinetic energy of particles is affected by both the mass of the particles and

how fast they move. While mass plays an important role, how fast the particles move
affects the energy much more. Temperature reflects the amount of kinetic energy a
sample's particles has.
Which of the following has the least thermal energy?
20 g of metal at 70°C
10 g of metal at 70°C
20 g of metal at 10°C
10 g of metal at 10°C

Answer 1

Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance. Therefore, the substance with the least thermal energy would be the one with the lowest temperature and the lowest mass.

Using this information, we can see that the substance with the least thermal energy is 10 g of metal at 10°C. This is because it has both a lower temperature and a lower mass than the other substances listed. The other substances have a higher temperature and/or a higher mass, which means they have more kinetic energy and therefore more thermal energy.